One of the Boys
by Hyperactive Energy
Summary: Bella wakes up to find herself as a vampire,surrounded by ever-thirsty vampires she doesn't even know,with no memory of Edward turning her - only dropping her off here. Where is he,anyway?
1. Chapter 1

Pain

**I didn't want to submit. Can I just say that? I wasn't going to, I don't like it. But my 'friend' Jessica (PsychoVampGirl, who is looking over my shoulder as I type) said she'd submit it on her own account and tell everyone I did it, because she's saved it to her laptop. And she would totally do it, too, so I figured I'd at least do it of my own free will (sorta).**

**So yeah. I don't like this. :P Go ahead now.**

Pain.

_Agony._

It was everywhere, around me, inside me. It was a whole new dimension of feeling.

It blocked everything else out, blocking every sense. It was all I heard, all I saw, all I smelt. It was nearly tangible. There was no release. No weakening. And it would now allow me to slip into unconsciousness, which I would have literally killed for. I wanted death, I wanted rest. I would have begged for it out loud if it could have stopped screaming.

When it first started I heard other yells that didn't belong to me. They shouted words I was too busy to listen to. I was picked up by a pair of freezing arms, and an eternity later passed to the different, unfamiliar arms of a stranger. The idea of protesting was on my mind for a second, but as I forced my eyes open I saw Edward Cullen's face. He kissed my forehead, then looked away and disappeared.

No.

The pain instantly multiplied and took over once more.

"What do we do when she gets it all together? We gotta tell her everything?" a voice sighed. A boy.

"No, the male said she knew about our kind. "Said her name was...damn, what was it now?" another voice, older and more mature, said. "Isabella."

"Isabella what?"

"It'll come to me later. Maybe she'll remember."

I opened my eyes and groaned quietly. They were so loud. My vision was blurred and shaky, but I could make out two figures. I was lying down on something – a sofa?

"Oh, look who's up!" the first voice declared. "Who _knew _someone could scream that long?"

"Shut it, Joey, you probably screamed like a girl too."

"Hey!"

I propped myself up with my right arm and instantly my vision cleared – but more than I was expecting. It was as if the pain had sharpened all my senses during its control – I heard the heartbeats of small animals outside, and could estimate the distance away from me immediately. I could smell and identify them, too. Every line of every object was sharp and precise, with every color fuller than I'd ever seen. Though the moon could clearly be seen outside, it was only a little dim to my eyes.

"Where am I?" I asked quietly, my throat raw and rough. It was such an intense thirst, my stomach felt it too.

"Ottowa. Well, near it." 'Joey' replied. "Whereja think?" I turned toward him. He looked around 14, maybe 15, with short black hair and pale skin. He had light purple shadows under his red eyes.

Wait a minute.

Before I could figure out what was so important about his appearance, a young man stepped into view. He looked in his late 20s, and similar to the boy, except taller and with light red hair. "Isabella, right?"

Isabella. For a moment the name was foreign and unfamiliar, but I quickly realized it was mine. Isabella Marie Swan. Yes! Memories started prodding at my mind but as I nodded the man continued.

"A young man dropped you off here four days ago. He said you knew about vampires – is that so?"

"Yes – yes, Edward!" I remembered him carrying me for a long period of time, of him disappearing as he handed me to someone. "Where is he?"

"Edward, huh? I don't know. He said he needed for you to come here – he must have found our scent or known we were here through another family. Isabella – "

"That's long. Is Izzy okay?" the younger boy interrupted, leaning forward.

Izzy...the name wasn't as disagreeable as it had been before. "Yeah." I nodded.

The man frowned at Joey and continued. "Izzy, then...do you know – you're a vampire?"

A vampire. That would explain everything. The heightened senses, the thirst, the pain – but not Edward's absence and this new family. They were vampires, I could tell that, and realized with a jolt of fear that the red eyes indicated that they were either newborns or not vegetarians.

"I need to go." I blurted out, swinging my legs off the sofa and standing with strange grace. "I need to find Edward. Did he tell you why he took me here?"

He frowned in thought, but then shook his head. "He said he had to leave you here for a while, and asked if we'd take you – of course we agreed, but he didn't know when he'd be back. He asked to keep you here – I'm afraid I don't know if it was him who turned you, or even it was this Edward you're talking about."

"Does that mean she's staying here?" Joey asked quickly. "She's a _girl_!"

"Good observation, Joe, and yes. She'll stay here as long as she likes."

The boy made a face, but seemed to only be teasing. "I'm Joseph Paisley. Everyone calls me Joey, though."

"Or Joe Parsley." the man grinned. "I'm Desmond York. There are others, of course, but I believe they've gone out for a while; I ask you to stay until you get used to your vampire body, and we'd be charmed for you to join our coven."

"Isabella Swan, but I – I have to go home, I'm sorry." I said lamely. "My father's there, and he must be worried sick, and – "

"Where _is _home?" Joey interrupted.

"Forks, Washington. I need to get back, I'm really sorry."

"_Forks_?" he blinked.

"Izzy – wait a while. You've only just become a vampire, I doubt you even have all your memories. You might be thinking of things years ago – please, wait." Desmond fixed me with a red-eyed look right into my own eyes.

"It might be kinda cool to have a girl here." Joey added, tilting his head to one side like a puppy. "It'd be best to stay for at least a little while. You don't know when this Edward guy's gonna come back."

I realized they were right. Edward would probably be back as soon as he could with a perfectly logical reason to hand me off to another coven for a while...but why not a vegetarian one? Why not the Denali coven?

Still...Edward must know best. "Just for a while. Thank you." I nodded.

"This is Walter!" Joey introduced a vampire about my age cheerfully. He was tall and lean, with messy red hair like Desmond and dark red eyes.

"Just Walt." he smiled, nodding at me.

"Izzy." I smiled back shyly, adopting the nickname I'd been given. It wasn't really so bad, I figured.

We were standing outside the small run-down house the coven lived in, and apparently I was about to hunt. I only hoped the others just happened to be vegetarian newborns, but this was extremely unlikely and I knew it.

"Um – what do we - ?" I asked.

"Blood, silly. Everyone knows that." Joey laughed.

"But people? Or animals? I'm kind of vegetarian."

Joey and Walt stared at me, then burst out laughing simultaneously. If I had blood in my system I would have blushed.

"A vegetarian vampire?" Joey gasped for unnecessary air. "You have got to be kidding me! Urgh, who would want to drink from animals?!"

"That sounds pretty disgusting. Trust me, the whole hunting thing's not as bad as it sounds." Walt straightened and grinned at me. "You get used to it, and instinct pretty much takes over."

"No, really, I – " but before I could complete my sentence Joey had grabbed my arm and was pulling me along as he ran at vampire speed. Walt was beside me, still snickering.

"Run!" the latter encouraged, pushing my shoulder gently. Walt gave my arm one final tug and let go as, more from momentum than anything else, I hurtled forward, the scenery blurred beside me. I picked up scents from miles around, heard the gentle buzzing of a city far away.

Cities meant humans.  
Just the thought of one made my mouth fill with venom and the ache in my throat flare up. My mind went on autopilot as I started sprinting of my own accord, my newborn speed surpassing the two behind me. I ran an impossible number of miles in minutes and saw the faint bright spot in the distance get closer and closer. People. _Humans. _Blood.

"Holy mother, Izzy, slow down or you'll get seen!" Walt called. I shuddered to a stop for five seconds, and then we were all running again, with one thing on our minds. Even me.

"See her, she's alone." Joey muttered, nudging me as we stood in an alley. How cliché, hanging around in the dark waiting for people to walk by...I wasn't thinking about that then, only about the woman, standing on the sidewalk.

"I want..." I whispered, almost shaking with thirst.

Could I go?

I heard heartbeats and voices everywhere, messing up my hearing so I couldn't tell if people were coming.

"Go!" Walt said, and before he'd even finished that single syllable I was on the woman, several times quicker than a bullet and much more deadly. For a brief moment I was confused and afraid of what I was doing, and begged myself to stop, but instinctively I snapped the woman's neck and plunged my teeth into the side of her throat.

And immediately I understood why most vampires didn't drink from animals. I understood how death was fair and necessary, and how the food chain was simply a hard fact. The body supplying my parched throat with blood was not a human who had a life and hopes and dreams and fears and a family, and maybe a husband and children and a pet. She had lived, but now she had died, and it wasn't anything to be sad about. It was art. It was beautiful. Why did the Cullens turn their back on it? To reject this was a sick, cold action.

I bathed in the feeling of bloodlust and its satisfaction.

**See?! SEE?! IT SUCKS! I'm gonna submit the next one if I get any nice reviews :P Shut up Jessica. Anyway, review to tell me what you like, dislike, how I can improve. Gah.**


	2. Chapter 2

"It's nothing to worry about; the first hunt is always messy

**Well apparently it actually isn't that bad! Jess LOVES how people are thanking her in reviews xD Here's more :P**

"It's nothing to worry about; the first hunt is always messy." Desmond assured me as I looked down at my scarlet shirt with shame. "We can wash it in the morning, but Vince here messed up the water pipes." he pointed over his shoulder at an unashamed, grinning vampire. He reminded me immediately of Emmett, even though he had an almost scrawny appearance and was only a little taller than me.

"Hey! Izzy, right?" Vince beamed. "I'm Vince."

"Nice to meet you."

"Sorry you can't wash your shirt. Here, change into mine." before he'd finished he was pulling off his shirt. "I'll clean yours up."

"Um, thanks." I blinked, taking his and glancing around for a place to change.

"There's a place under the stairs." Desmond offered. "I think someone would walk in on you upstairs." I nodded in thanks and went to the side of the staircase, opening a door and walking into the small room. It had a couple shelves on the wall with old, broken-looking PlayStation controllers and DVDs.  
I felt disgusting and ashamed. How would Edward and the rest of the Cullens react if they knew what I'd done? I wouldn't be able to bear their disappointment. I was filled with regret.

As I stepped out, Vince was rolling around on the floor with Desmond in a play fight. Walt was stretched out on the sofa, watching a flickering TV that didn't look as if it should be working. Joey was obviously outside, since he called, "what the hell did you to these pipes, Vince, try to make a belt out of them?!"

"No, I want to see if they'd go like a slinky."

"Well, you're fixing them!"

"Aw, come on!"

The slight, 'controlled chaos' reminded me of the Cullen household. It was comforting and I already felt accepted. Maybe I could wait a while for Edward to come back. They seemed nice enough.

Maybe I could even fit in. Maybe I could see how this coven worked. See how they lived...I knew I was lying to myself. I wanted to be part of this. This family bond the Cullens had, but more wild and brotherly.

I wanted to be one of them, for however long it took for Edward to return.

"Does that thing work?"

"Looks like a big lump of scrap metal."

"How slow is that thing?"

I stood, skeptical in the line of Desmond, Joey and Walt as Vince exhibited his new truck with melting pride.

"Aw, come on, guys. Won't it be cool to just pile in the back of this thing and zoom around? I like it!"

"How fast does it go?" Desmond asked.

"Well, not fast yet. We can play around with the engine, right?"

"Oh, there's an engine? I thought it was the kind with pedals, sorry." Joey snickered.

"Hey, I like it!" Vince folded his arms, acting hurt. "Izzy, you know anything about engines?"

I'd been here for 2 months now and got sucked right into the brotherly vibe. My disgust for feeding from humans was fading, and I found my dignity following suit. After Joey walked in on me changing when he was looking for some batteries, respect for my body had quickly spiraled downward so one of the boys would often jump out at me to hear my yell at them to get out. Apparently this was funny.

"Well, I'm pretty sure they make cars run." I shrugged. "Sorry."

"No problemo." he shook his head. "Anyone here know anything about engines, apart from the helpful factjh that they make cars go?"

"I can mess around with it a little." Walt sighed, walking round. "This truck's a hell of a mess, Vincey-boy."

"Shut up!"

"Just go guard the water pipes or fight Izzy or something." Walt crouched down and lifted the vehicle up with one hand, angling himself below it. "Joey, hold this thing for me."

I looked up and saw Desmond and Vince both grinning at me. "Oh, no you don't."

Several minutes later, I was being held by my ankles in a tree, with an upside-down view of the world. "Vincent Gounder, let me go or I will rip that precious truck of yours to _pieces_!"

"Oooh, Izzy's PMSing!" Vince laughed, swinging me. I held my shirt in place with one hand and tried to grab at him with the other.

Desmond jumped up and pushed my back, swinging me more. "I'm gonna go get the camera!"

"Desmond YORK!" I yelled, but had to laugh with them as he disappeared momentarily, coming back with a scratched up digital camera. He held it up. "Hey, grab her other hand!"

"Aw, that's _too _mean...who would want to see Izzy with her shirt off?" Vince teased, and the camera clicked.

"I'm burning that thing!" I threatened.

"If you can get down. Will Izzy ever get down from the branch? Or will she stay stuck for the rest of eternity? Tune in next week to find out!" Desmond poked me on the nose, camera stashed in his pocket.

"Screw you."

"No thanks, Izzy."

"Truck's ready!" we heard Walt calling. "It's a mess, the inside is old as Des!"

I was nearly dropped on my head as Desmond and Vince both ran to take a ride. Luckily, instinct kicked in and I flipped to land neatly on my feet. "Wait for me, you little – "

Several minutes later, Vince was driving up a rocky hill. "The engine's awful!" he complained.

"Hey, it barely worked before!" Walt snapped, sitting in the back with Desmond. Joey was standing on the front hood and I was above the driver's seat, looking around him. A human would barely have to hold on, we were going so slowly.

"Who says we take off all brakes for the ride down!" Vince yelled. He reached the top and floored it, making me shout in surprise and exhilaration. I held on to the top so I didn't fly off, and Joey sat down, whooping.

I was part of it, and at that moment and many moments to come, the future didn't matter – neither did the past. I was in the moment, yelling with the boys, holding on to the metal so hard I knew a mark would be carved into it.

It was another perfectly normal Thursday morning, and I was innocently watching _Hellboy _with Walt and Desmond. Joey and Vince were somewhere in the house, no doubt making up trouble. As long as they didn't cut off the water again, or make the house cave in.

"Hey, Izzy!" Walt chuckled from the top of the stairs with a video camera in front of his face.

I put one hand on front of my face. "No camera! What are you doing? Only bad things happen when the video camera comes out."

"Just recording a nice family bonding moment." I didn't even realize he'd included me as family in that sentence. "What're you watching?"

"Your mom." Walt chuckled. I groaned.

"Where's Joey?" I looked back to the TV.

My shirt was yanked off in a second. I jumped up. "Joseph Paisley, you little bas – "

"BEEP!" Walt hollered.

I grabbed my shirt back and pulled it over my head. Strictly speaking, it wasn't mine, but my vampire figure had grown out of my human clothes a little.

"You get BACK here you – I swear I'm gonna – " Walt ran around after me as I crashed around, racing after quick little Joey. "Give me that camera!"

Walt turned right around and ran the other way, turning the video camera off. "Des, catch! Don't let her destroy it!"

That's a close family moment right there, even thought it didn't seem so at the time. Then it seemed like a great time to tear apart Walt and Joey slowly and painfully, starting with each individual fingernail and then finger and then hand, etc, then burning each separate part in a huge bonfire with gasoline, then before they got too burned up pouring the fire out and letting the pieces try to reattach, then setting them on fire again for ultimate pain.

Not that I'd thought out the details, of course.

**I'm not ordering you to but it would make my day if you review D**


	3. Chapter 3

**More chapters than I'd like are just kind of family bonding with the boys. Becuase this wasn't MEANT to be submitted and since I was forced I'm not gonna do it all over agai so it has more plot etc. It's PRACTISE, I was trying to get more length and details into the story without babbling. I'm bad at that :p Also, it was an attempt to get the reader attached to my characters. I hope I'm doing vaguely well. Thanks!**

"In Forks, Washington America, a peculiar disappearing case has people everywhere on the alert. Isabella Marie Swan, 18 years old, disappeared from her father's home August 2nd. She had reportedly spent the night at her fiancée's family's home, but the family seems to have moved. Authorities are still trying to trace them, but with little luck. Isabella is still missing and the possibility of kidnapping or murder is being investigated."

I hated news reports.

After I'd been gone six months, news about 'Isabella Swan' had began to die down. Thankfully. Couldn't they just let it go? And why weren't they trying to find the Cullen family so they could put the location out – I _needed _to know. Though our little coven was comforting and homey, a raw ache in my chest that was not thirst longed for Edward.

I wanted him back so badly.

I felt selfish for it after all the boys had given me – but I needed him back so much it physically hurt. Some days, when it was worse than usual, I could swear I felt my still heart twitch at a thought of him.

"Enougha _that_." Walt lifted his leg and pushed the power button with a toe. "Man, for a CD player. Gotta have my rap."

"You only want rap so you can pretend to be a rapper." Joey snorted. "Men called Walter cannot be rappers, Walt."

"But I don't need to breathe! I'd be the best!"

"You're so full of yourself." Vince chuckled. "Anyone wanna go hunting with me? Izzy?"

"Nope."

"Desmond?"

"I'm fine."

"Joe?"

"You wish."

"Gahh, I feel unloved." he joked.

"You are, Vince. We hate your dead guts." Joey grinned.

"Well that's mean. You love me, right sis?"

I realized he was talking to me, and resisted the urge to grin ear to ear. Sis? I'd never really liked the nickname, but didn't mind it used towards me.

"Sure."

"Yesss." he punched the air in mock victory.

I felt content, even with the newscasts calling me missing. _Oh, I love them._

"Turn that thing back on." Joey demanded. Desmond and after a few minutes of more missing people, my picture was included with several others.

"Huh, you were kinda pretty." Walt observed. I play-punched him on the shoulder.

"And I'm not now?" I smiled.

"Don't listen to Walt, of course you're pretty." Vince assured me. I rather enjoyed not blushing. "He doesn't know a thing about pretty girls. He's gay."

Desmond, Joey and I all burst out laughing.

"I am not!"

"Yeah, you are."

"Your mom's gay."

"OHHHH." Joey grinned.

"Oh, and how'd you know that?"

"OHHHH."

"I've seen her with you."

"OHHHH. Wait, what?"

"You two, shut up. Walt, go get a drink with Vince."

"You two, take a bottle or two with you. At this time of night there might be some drunks goin' around." Desmond told them. I'd never know vampires could get drunk, but by drinking a drunk's blood, we'd discovered vampires could get tipsy.

And what a wonderful discovery it was, along with storing blood in bottles. It was kind of gruesome and didn't taste fantastic, if we got thirsty during the day it staved us over.

"Fine." Walt sighed, getting up and going to the small, unused kitchen. He returned with some empty bottles, corks in the tops. They were originally wine bottles, and we liked to leave the labels on them so it simply looked like good red wine.

Mwuahaha.

Joey decided to join them after all, so I was left alone with Desmond. We watched the news together, each occupying half of the sofa.

"Izzy." he said suddenly, startling me a little.

"What is it?"

"The family you were with before – who were they, again?"

"The Cullens."

"Tell me about them."

I had no problems fulfilling his request. It felt both good and painful to talk about each individual – Carlisle, the gentle doctor and father who took me into his family with eager arms, and who was resistant to human blood. Esme, with so much love for her husband and adopted children that there was more than enough for me, too. Alice, My bouncing, hyper best friend who loved shopping and makeovers (this made Desmond snort in amusement). Jasper, the kind and cautious family member who always seemed a little distant, but loved Alice with all his heart. Emmett, the big brother I never had with his headlocks and teasings. The beautiful Rosalie, breathtaking even to vampires, who was trying to become friends with me.

I leaned my head back, closing my eyes and allowing myself to picture them all. There might have been a lot of chaos, but in a way it was a simple, happy family. Well, maybe simple wasn't the right word...

"And Edward?"

Desmond's voice surprise me. "Edward." I said thoughtfully.

"What was your relationship with him? He kissed you, when he left, but it could have been a family kiss." he shrugged.

"Edward is my world." I said simply, and I was taken aback by his next question;

"And us?"

"Who's us?" I asked, weighing my words carefully.

"This coven. The wild, ragamuffin boys." he teased.

"Well, Des, as Emmett would say; you put the 'fun' in 'dysfunctional'."

Desmond chuckled. "Yep, that's us." he went quiet suddenly, and closed his eyes. "We love ya, Izzy. You know that, right? I know I can be pretty bossy, and Vince and Joeys can be pains, and Walt's always keen for a prank, but we do."

"Yeah?" I stared up at the flaky ceiling, wondering how I could respond to something like that.

"I would say that your woman-ness have rubbed off on us, but I think the Y Chromosome has more rubbed off on you, to be honest." he grinned. "For example, I'm pretty sure those are my jeans you're wearing."

I glanced down. "Yep. None of my clothes fit any more and you guys aren't too much bigger than me."

"...you're wearing underwear, right?"

"Vince's boxers, yes."

"Please tell me you're wearing a bra, because I think that's my shirt, too."

Ahh, the ability to be cool as a cucumber. "Joey's bra."

"Joey doesn't have a bra."

"Exactly."

"...I'm not sure whether to be happy or grossed out."

"Ew. You dirty-minded bloodsucker."

"And you're not?"

"Details, details." I laughed. "And yes, the Y chromosome is most definitely rubbing off on me."

"Wanna go for a ride in Vince's truck?"

"Yeah. Race!"

"Iz, wait _up_!"

**Yupyup, this was just another family bonding chapter...oh, some trivia; I first got this idea before I even had an account on here, and I jotted it down with some details and got the names off the top of my head. I look at that first draft of a first draft and die a little inside. It's awful; since I put little effort into the names, Joey was originally Zack, Walt and Vince were Austin and Oliver. Desmond was Desmond though, I really tried with his name and I still liked it when I wrote it for real. And none of the charries had any history in my head, they were so flat and sketchy...**

**I'll put in the next chapter if I get 3 more review. 3**


	4. Chapter 4

**Holy Hannah! I ask for 3 more reviews, I get - I think it was 7? Well, you guys put a huge smile on my face. Some people asked whether the Cullens were coming in soon, and I repeat the babbling that this was meant as practise writing - a story doodle, if you will So everything will be explained, but not at the mo'. Thanks so much for reviews, they put a huge silly grin on my face.**

"Looks like we're gonna have to move, Izzy." was the greeting as I walked in the door from hunting.

"Move? Move where?" I demanded.

"Away. As in, to a different location – people are getting suspicious over the deaths. It's no big deal, we always move around."

"We're moving?" Joey followed me, looking cheerful.

"How does...I dunno, Vancouver sound?" Desmond shrugged. "We haven't been there since Joey was a newborn. And that was, what, 70 years ago?"

"We're moving?" Vince wandered in.

"I think we've gone over this." Desmond rolled his eyes. "Izzy, go get the atlas. Under the trusty stairs."

"To the Bat Cave." I sighed, going over and opening the squeaking door. I shuffled through the magazines and books before fishing out the rarely-used atlas, with the map of Canada dog-eared.

"An atlas on the house." I tossed it to Vince, who opened it to the Canada map.

"Vancouver is...here!" he jabbed at a spot, and leafed through the pages until he found a map of that city. "Nice. Lots of open areas. How about the North of it?"

"Lemme see that." Joey grabbed the book, nearly tearing it.  
"Wait, hold on a minute. Why do we have to move again?" I held my hands up, realizing something.

"Because, genius, we can't kill off the whole city." Walt called from upstairs.

"Stop eavesdropping, _Walter_!" Joey yelled.

"But...Edward won't know where I am."

"Well, we can't exactly leave him a note or we'll be followed by humans." Desmond pointed out. "Is he a good tracker?"

I nodded. "I think he's tried it before..."

"Well, he can find you, or he'll hear from other covens that we've passed. And...Izzy, you know..." Vince looked uncomfortable.

"What?" I said sharply.

"It's been nearly seven months, y'know...since the guy dropped you off..." he continued.

Joey stamped on his foot, hard. "Shut _up_, Vince..." he hissed quietly.

"Edward's coming back for me! I know he has a perfectly good reason to leave me here!" I glared at Vince. "Of course he's going to come back for me."

"I know. Sorry, Izzy." he drooped.

I glared at him. How dare he! Of course Edward was planning to come back, and he knew best. The Cullens would come back, and if we moved, they'd find me. And there was a perfectly good reason I'd been turned, too...

"So North Vancouver?" Joey changed the subject. "When?"

"Well, I'm pretty bored of this place. Road trip tomorrow, guys?"

Walt yelled his agreement from upstairs. Joey punched the air and nodded, bright-eyed, and Vince grinned. "Hell yeah!"

I nodded, and it felt like I was agreeing to leave the Cullens behind.

**Sorry, it's rather short. I like short and sharp chapters, y'know? But since you guys put me in such a good mood I'm gonna upload the other one too. a lot of these are just fillers (PRACTISSSSSEEEE) so you can thank Jess for that.**

**Off I skip to upload the next chapter merrily...**


	5. Chapter 5

**Yupyup, 'nother filler. I can't help it! D: Jess scares me!**

"Ninety nine bottles'a beer on the wall, ninety nine bottles'a beer!" Joey sang from his seat beside me. Desmond, in the driver's seat, groaned loudly.

Vince, Joey, Walt and I were lounging in the back of the truck with a few armfuls of duffel bags, 'wine' bottles and changes of clothes. Of course, we'd also stuffed as much furniture as we could into the back with us to take – the old, much-loved sofa was in there, and Walt and Joey were both hogging it. The little dented TV and PlayStation were in the front, beside the driver's seat. If we had electricity wherever we were going was anyone's guess. A shoebox of PS games, movies and gear for the video camera was at my feet to be guarded. If it bounced and damaged the contents, the boys would be devastated.

"Take one down, pass it around, ninety eight bottles'a beer on the wall!"

"Joe Parsley, shut up or I'll throw you off." Walt threatened idly, facing backwards so he could see our old house slowly disappear. "Hey, what happens if we don't find some shed somewhere in the middle of nowhere?"

"We build one." Vince mumbled, sounding bored. "Duhh."

"What time is it? Are we nearly there?" Joey asked, dropping the song.

"Joe, we've been driving for barely an hour. You can still see our house!"

"Yeah, but are we nearly there?"

Desmond groaned again. "With this hunk of junk and our speed combined, it'll take about 2 weeks."

"_Wha_?!" Joey clapped his hands to his head. "What have I agreed to?! Why do we have to drive this thing?"

"It's easier, and it'll be better to have a truck from the word go when we get there."

"And we've kinda grown attached to this scrap yard on wheels." Walt added. "Has a nice feel."

"See, I toldja it was cool!" Vince grinned.

"And anyway, Joey, you've done this road trip before – just the opposite way." Desmond reminded the boy.

"I can barely remember it, I was just turned!"

"Ahh, the days when you drank more, talked less. Hey Izzy, coming up on losing that newborn strength, huh?" Desmond turned his head to look at me.

"Yeah. Hope I won't be _too _embarrassingly weak."

"As long as you can act as the carjack, we won't tease you too much." Walt assured me.

We sat in near-silence for a while more, Joey humming a tune over and over to Desmond's great annoyance. After about an hour more, Walt brought out the video camera and turned it on.

"It's midnight, that thing won't see a thing." Vince told him.

"It's got night vision, dumbass. Say hi, Izzy!"

I rolled my eyes, but humored him and waved.

"We're on our way to _Vancouver_! Cheer for Vancouver, Joey."

"Hurrah, huzzah and all that."

"Des is driving – " he swiveled the camera to the driver's seat. "Hey, Des!"

"Don't drop the camera, Walt."

"And this is our good friend Vince."

Vince put his face up to the camera, sticking his tongue out and crossing his eyes.

"Beautiful. I want to record something fun. Someone do something." Walt ordered. Vince immediately jumped up. I should have seen something like this coming but simply looked away, bored. He grabbed me, one hand around both my wrists and another around one ankle.

"Vincent Gounder!" I shrieked, struggling wildly and thrashing around before he...too late. He spun around for momentum and let go, sending me soaring off the back of the truck and sending the boys into cries of laughter.

"That's _not _funny!" I yelled, having landed on my feet gracefully. It took me only a few seconds to catch back up to the truck, jumping into the back again. "One day, that camera will end up in the fire with your limbs."

"You okay, Iz?" Desmond, at least trying to hide his amusement, called. "Seems all the guys pick on ya, huh?"

"Damn Y Chromosome." I grumbled, punching Vince in the arm and grabbing the camera. "And here are the idiotic goofballs that I suppose I'd call my brothers, if they hadn't just thrown me off a moving truck."

"Aw, she loves us." Walt pulled a face at the camera.

"Film me, film me!" Joey jumped in front of him. "I'm Izzy's favorite! Right?"

"Uh oh, the favorite game." Desmond chuckled.

"No comment, guys." I pretended to throw the camera off the truck.

Walt grabbed it back and turned it off. "Too bad we can't sleep or this'd go a whole lot faster. Hey, anyone smell bear?"

I sniffed at the air immediately. "Nope. Anyway, what would you do if there was?"

"I dunno. Chase it? Ride it? Hey, we could have a bear rodeo?"

"Aw, that's mean, Walt." Joey whined.

It didn't even strike me as funny that he said that when we thought little of killing humans. Thought little if at all of it. It was the art of survival.

"Izzy, awesome idea. Want to hear?" Walt asked.

It was midday, and since we were so far from humans we were still driving and enjoying the sparkles on our bodies.

"Spare me."

"Great. I was thinking, for when your Edward picks you up – " from his tone it was difficult to see if he was humoring me or if he believed he'd come back. " – we could have a kinda memoir of your time with the brotherhood of insanity. Y'know?"

"I'm not writing a book."

"No, like just burn together a load of these clips onto some discs. It'd be cool, especially after a few decades."

I considered. I didn't like being taped, as it usually involved me being pranked, but it would be a nice little collection to have. "I guess so. 'Kay."

Walt flicked the camera on one more time. "On the road to Vancouver...still. And should be for the next couple weeks. And we have decided that we're going to make a kind of memoir thing, of Izzy joining the tribe of – of – "

"The naked moose men!" Vince yelled. **I thought, what would Vince suggest as a group name? And this seriously just popped into my head. I need help.**

"Yes! The naked moose men! Except for the fact that we're not naked – yet – and we are not large herbivorous animals."

"Didn't even know you knew the meaning of 'herbivorous', Walt."

"I'm sick of driving. Who's up?" Desmond called, pulling over jerkily. It was impossible to do anything smoothly in this truck, reminding me of mine – except it was worse, with flaky paint and the one driver's seat slightly ripped and duct-taped. The space next to it that should have had another seat was empty.

"I'll take 'im!" Vince jumped onto the roof over Desmond's seat. The vampire under him got out, and joined us in the back.

"I _know _this thing has a radio...lessee now..." there was some fiddling as the truck grunted, groaned, jerked and started uphill again. There was static noise until Vince found a channel. "That's my boy-o!"

Joey jumped onto the hood above the seats, standing and beating his chest. "King'a the world! Joseph Paisley! Thank you, America!"

"Give it a rest, Joe." Walt leaned back, closing his eyes in the sun.

"On the road again! Just can't wait to get on the road again!" Vince yelled, vaguely in tune with the song on the radio as Joey beat his chest and shouted along with him. Walt gave up and whistled the tune with the two of them.

The truck rattled towards Vancouver.

**I don't know if anyone has read some of Gerald Durrell's books, but I kind of stole that ending from one of them. I don't own it. Oh, wow, I totally forgot disclaimers! I own neither 'Twilight' or any other works by Stephenie Meyer, 'My Family and Other Animals' by Gerald Durell or 'On the Road Again' by Willie Nelson. In fact I don't own much at all.**

**Random trivia, since I'm extremely bored right now; Vincent had a younger sister called Alisha, who doesn't appear in the story but he was very close to her. Just a little shout out to my friend Lisha :D Vince makes me laugh, but I like Joey a lot. He's kind of like Alice, but more immature and fonder of mud wrestling.**

**Do you guys think I'm doing an okay job with making the characters, particularly the boys, 3-D and realistic? Or are they just words? If you like them, who do you like best? I'll upload the next one tomorrow if you don't mind.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Yup, more mindless brother bonding. Sorry 'bout that. Gah, I have a tummyache x(**

"We'll be there tomorrow morning, boys!" Walt, in the driver's seat, grinned.

"Al_right_!" Joey and Vince said simultaneously. I didn't object to be called a boy – in fact, I barely noticed.

We were dressed, as usual, in tussle-torn clothes that we all shared – since nobody but me would wear woman's clothes, I had to wear the guy's. I didn't mind, the baggy shirts and jeans were really very comfortable and easy to run in.

I got to my feet, barefoot. I had Desmond's white T-shirt on, and Walt's jeans with the legs rolled up to my knees so I could enjoy the warmth of the sun when it came out.

"I think that news calls for a run-round." the truck stopped suddenly as Walt hopped out. "Race with you, Des."

"Don't cry when ya lose!" I watched the two crouch down and assumed my usual position as starting gun. "On your mark...get set..." I waited a few extra seconds to annoy them. "GO!"

They had instantly disappeared, with a small cloud of dust. "Five miles! Whoever comes back first wins!" I yelled after them.

"PLAYFIGHT!" Joey cried out eagerly, grabbing me in a headlock. Vince snatched a blood bottle, swigged from it and made a face.

"Aw, get off, Joey!" I complained. "Don't make me use my newborn strength! I'll do it!"

"It's starting to fade, Izzy. 4 months before it's gone like this coven's dignity!"

"Yeah, but it's taught me that dignity is really very overrated." I flipped him over onto his stomach and sat on his back. "You barely even know how guy and girl bodies are different, anyways. You're not even 15."

"I'm 84! And 15 is a big difference from 5."

"And if he didn't before, he sure does now, Izzy." Vince grinned, taking another gulp of cold, still blood. "With us switching clothes all over the place."

Joey snickered. "Aw, doesn't matter with family, right?"

I stuck my tongue out at Vince. "Exactly. Thank you, Joe Parsley."

"Quit it with the Parsley! It's Paisley!"

"Hey, you guys hear water?" Vince perked up. I tilted my head, then smiled excitedly.

"I hear it! A river!"

"Aw, let's go for a swim!" Joey begged. "Please, Vince? Pretty pretty please?"

Desmond appeared, doubled over and panting. "I win!" he breathed.

"Des, Des, can we go swimming?"

"Knock yourself out."

Walt arrived a few seconds later, scowling. "You cheated!"

"How did I cheat?"

"I dunno! But you did!"

"Whatever, Wally, you wanna join these boys for a swim?" Desmond stretched.

"Water? There's water? Yeah!"

The boys found the water first. It was pretty shallow, but clear and big enough to at least splash around in.

Joey tugged off his shirt and jeans, and quickly leaped into the water in his boxers. "Aww, it's only waist- high."

"Good thing I brought Izzy's best friend!" Walt whipped out the video camera from its case on his hip and turned it on. "C'mon, someone hold this for me. I want to get in."

"Just stick it on a bush or something." I shrugged off my shirt and jeans, even though the only thing I had underneath was boxers. As Joey said, didn't matter with family.

I wondered briefly if I'd ever been this open, this unhesitating and daring, with the Cullens. I couldn't imagine parading around in a river in just boxers with them, but I quickly banished the thought guiltily and kicked a spray of water at Joey.

"Heyyy!" he yelped, startled, and predictably a water war was started.

Two hours later, wet and giggly, we headed back to the truck. Walt picked his camera up from the ground and I took it off him. "That clip isn't going on this so-called memoir." I told him firmly.

"So no nudity?"

"Absolutely no nudity."

"Spoilsport." he made a face and took it back. "Fine."

And seven hours, four minutes later, we arrived at our new home for the next...well, however long necessary. Maybe decades.

Wait, what was I thinking? I'd only be here a little while. Before I grew out of my newborn strength and the rest of my human blood dried up, Edward would come back for me. With an explanation.

I knew he would.

**Yeah, more Bella tomfoolery. Purdy much. Sorry, heh. If the shenanigans get old, tell me - I base them on what might happen/has happened with my friends, so they might only be fun to write and not to read.I'm sitting outside French just grabbing the spare minute to submit this like I said,so hopefully enjoy.Next chapter they build a house if that's anything to get excited about xD**


	7. Chapter 7

**...**

**-sigh-**

**We need to talk.**

**Lots of people have been waiting for the plot. But I cannot stress ENOUGH how much I dislike this purely because it was practise. Word doodling. You know? The sole point of writing this was to practise one of my weaker points; making my characters more 3-D, lovable, human (well, in this case, vampire). There is no crisis or plot or major problem. It's doodling! The wanderings of a mind! Reluctantly put on here! I didn't want to submit it because it has no plot, it's not a proper story.**

**If it helps, I'm already brewing up another story which actually HAS plot using the skills I've drawn from this practise. :P**

"Woah, look at that tree! It's huge! Can we make a treehouse, Des?"

"I think first we should focus on finding wherever humans have stayed. There's sure to be housing there, and I smell that some came here months ago."

"Do you think they went back? I'm parched." I asked him.

"Sorry, Izzy, but it looks like it. Hikers, I guess. It's not a popular trail though, there's no footpath." he pointed to the ground. "Well, let's see what we can knock together with what we've brought."

Walt fetched the large metal case from the back of the truck with objects from our last home. "Whatta we got here...nails, a sandpaper block, a nice heavy axe...what the hell is this? Oh, right, roof tiles...why are they all bendy? ...oh, I get it..."

"Is that it?" Joey peered into the box. "That's all we got?"

"We're vampires!" Vince struck a Hercules pose. "That's all we need, kid!"

"Okay, we're gonna need a ton of wood. Bella, you and Joey can get that. Strip a tree down, and shape the wood with the axe and take the sandpaper block, too. Walt and Vince, you guys start fitting a roof, and I'll flatten out the ground and figure out the layout when we need it."

I picked up the axe with ease and Joey grabbed the sandpaper block, looking doubtful. We ran to heavier trees and began shoving at them, laughing as they fell so easily.

"I think we should just stick with the axe." he said, examining the block with one raised eyebrow. I had to agree and raised the axe – I was only using it at all because it shaped the wood better.

"Can I try?" he asked eagerly after only a couple chops. I handed the tool over to him and sat down, trying the shape the wood into vague board-shapes. It was easier than I thought it would be, but aggravatingly slow. I had to use my nails to jab at the hanging-off knobs of wood so I didn't smash the whole thing into splinters.

Joey laughed, raising the axe high and bringing it hard onto the tree. "This is cool! It doesn't even look sharp!" he experimentally pressed it against his arm, tapped it, then brought it down with not quite as much force as he did with the tree.

"Holy crow, Joey, watch it!" I snapped as he grinned in delight. "I don't care if it can't hurt you, don't swing it around like that."

"Fine." he pouted, returning to his work. I'd figured we'd just find some abandoned house as soon as we arrived and be able to relax in our new home. But, as Desmond always said, "Nothing in life is free, Izzy."

He usually said it when I wanted to borrow his controller and was unwilling to give up my seat on the bean bag chair for it, but you get the point.

"Can't we just rent an apartment?" he complained a few minutes later.

"Apart from the fact that we'd lose control and kill all the others in the building?"

"Oh, right."

"Dummy." I teased, and then scowled with frustration as a piece of wood splintered. "Be nice if we could kinda turn off the vampire strength."

"I like it!" he said enthusiastically. "You can break a neck like _that_!" he snapped his fingers. "Faster, even!"

"You've been watching too many violent movies."

"You watch 'em too."

"Not the Saw series. Makes me thirsty."

"Yeah, same..."

Joey and Vince especially loved gory movies, but they made the rest of us unbearably thirsty. Pretty disgusting, now I think of it – but vaguely amusing, too.

"Hey, that enough?" Joey asked.

"Are you kidding me? We need enough for a house, not a birdhouse, Joe."

"Aw, man..."

"This," I declared as Joey and I carried the last of our load back, "Is _enough_. I'm worn out and so thirsty my clothes can feel it."

"Well, go get some blood from the bottles."

"But it's disgusting, to be blunt, Walt."

"Good point."

"Wait for dark, Izzy, and we'll go see what Vancouver has to offer us. We should also see if we're on anyone else's territory." Desmond decided. Joey groaned from thirst.

"But this should be enough!" Des tried vaguely to cheer him up. "We'll have some shelter up in a jiffy, right, you two?"

"What can I do?" Joey asked, eager to get this over with. "And what'll we do for furniture?"

"Borrow some stuff from stores at night, junk yards, whatever." Walt replied. "We got our sofa!"

"That thing has been around since _I _was first turned." Desmond grinned. "Got us through some tough times, huh boys?"

"No wonder it's so beaten-up." I muttered, handing rough and misshapen boards to Vince to lay down for a rough shape.

"I think we'll need more." he sighed. "Or it's gonna be pretty small."

"We can build a second story." I snapped. "I am not cutting any more wood."

"In that case we need more for _stairs_."

"We can build a ladder!"

"I like that idea! A secret entrance to the attic!"

"Cool! Like a movie!" Vince agreed. "How's this for a layout? He stood back. Boards were laid out in rows to show where walls would be. "A room to hang out in, a little storage room or something, and...I dunno, another medium room. I think we have enough for that."

Desmond surveyed the plans and nodded in approval. "That'll work – we can put in another storey, you're right. We don't need a roof for now." he grinned.

"What about rain?" Walt objected. "The furniture!"

"Good point. Looks pretty clear now...we can nail together a rough roof – we'll do that, Izzy." he added quickly, seeing my frown.

"Walt, Vince and Joey – if we all build up the walls we should have it down in a jiffy, so to speak. Izzy, why don't you take some time out, get to know the woods over there or look for some hikers?"

"Really?" My mood brightened considerably.

"Aw, go wrestle some bears, Izzy." Vince grinned.

"Thanks, guys!" I beamed at them, wandering off into the woods. They could be so sweet sometimes – and other times so perfectly awful. That's brothers for you.

A rabbit, at smelling me, stared at my approaching figure for a split second and ran. I could have caught it without even trying, if I wanted, but the blood would taste...bleurgh. Just the smell of it made me wrinkle my nose.

I sniffed the air hopefully, but only smelt the stale scent of humans coming and going months ago. I was so attuned the sweet smell of human blood I could pick it out farther that most other vampires – Desmond has suggested that since I hadn't liked blood when I was human, I was especially sensitive to it now – he thought it might be my gift, but it hadn't been decided. **AN: I know I haven't written about Bella's and the boys' gifts, but fanfics where you have to learn a whole bunch of people's gifts annoy me, so I figured to maybe work them in loosely or mention them in passing or something.**

I couldn't smell any bears, either. During the road trip Vince and I had found entertainment in chasing them up trees. We loved how they ran away from us, sensing we were predators – we'd be the prey if we hadn't been turned. It made us feel confident, not that we didn't have enough of that. We were a bunch of cocky, daring, teasing vampires – and pretty proud of it.

I enjoyed my stroll, examining the filtered sun's effect on my arms. It sparkled and shone like glass, reminding me of the first time I saw Edward shining in the meadow...

**There was originally a part here but my Twilight Buddies Alisha and Jess didn't see the point until I explained it, so I figured it's just a fifth wheel and erased it. :P So yesh.**

**I'm really sorry it took so long to submit so I'll submit a couple while I have a tiny piece of time right now.**


	8. Chapter 8

**If the chapters are messed up, apologies in advance. I shoved in an extra character in a few chapters, and it's hard rearranging the chapters and fiddling around with the order so it makes sense.**

"Ah, Walt. There y'are." Vince greeted as Walt appeared in the doorway, dusty and smug. He would have stood in front of the door, but there wasn't one. Just a space.

"You can all get to your knees and thank me now." he told us, trailing a braid of cables behind him and going to the TV in the corner to plug them in.

"There's no electricity, idiot." Joey rolled his eyes.

"I beg to differ." Walt pressed the power button firmly. The TV flickered on and automatically began playing the movie inside, something I didn't recognize.

Joey jumped up. "What did you – "

"Do not ask me how, _please_, but I connected the cable for you guys. 'Cause luckily, I love ya."

"Eww, gay." Vince teased.

"I'll ignore that. You boys owe me big time." Walt collapsed on the sofa dramatically. "Just call me techno master."

"No thanks." Des chuckled. "Nice going, Walt. Thanks."

It was now dark outside, but coming up to dawn. We'd all fed but Desmond, who was just getting changed.

"Izzy, is that my shirt?" he groaned. "That's the last clean one!"

"You don't need a shirt, you wussy." I stuck my tongue out. "And I know it is, I snatched it." everyone was shirtless but me. Mwuahaha.

He growled in frustration, but headed out nevertheless.

"Have fun!" I called after him. "Get totally covered in blood for me!"

I heard him chuckle as he started running towards the city.

"Izzy, how old are you, anyways?" Joey asked after a few minutes of watching the black and white movie onscreen.

"Let's see..." It didn't occur to me as strange at all that I had to think about it. "I was turned when I was 18, but now I'm 19. Not much compared to Desmond's 120 years."

"It starts to just fly by, Izzy." Walt assured me. "Seems like a couple weeks ago Joey showed up, bright-eyed and even thirstier than you."

"Is this the little boy I carried?" Vince sang, grabbing Joey in a headlock. The boy squirmed.

"When did he grow to be so tall?" Walt joined.

I rolled my eyes. "Give it a rest, you two."

"You got any brothers or sisters?" Vince asked.

"What is this, 20 questions?" I smiled. "Nope."

"My little sister's probably a great grandmother now." he chuckled. "Huh, be nice to see her. Not so nice to risk drinking her dry, though."

"She's still alive?" I asked, surprised.

"As far as I know – she was only a toddler when I was turned. Big age difference. " he said, leaning his head back to remember. "I miss 'er."

"I had a dog when I was turned." Joey piped up.

"Joey, we're talking about siblings. Not pets." Walt rolled his eyes. "In case anyone's wondering, I came from the biggest family in the world."

"How big?" I asked. The Cullens were pretty big – but strictly speaking they weren't family yet in the legal sense.

"I lived with my two pairs of grandparents, my parents, six siblings and three dogs."

"That's pretty impressive there." Vince remarked. "You win."

"I love these trips down memory lane!" Walt pretended to squeal in excitement, making me laugh. "And now for something completely different." he jumped up, knocking me off the arm of the sofa and pinning me down. "The fearless hunter immobilizes his prey – he is top of the food chain! He is king!"

"So he thinks." I bent my legs and kicked up, trying to lift him off. I frowned. I'd been able to pull off the maneuver before...

"Aww, is someone starting to lose their newborn strength?" Joey grinned at me. "Poor Izza-bewwa."

"Isabella. Can't picture you as anything but Izzy." Vince said thoughtfully.

"The fearless hunter grins in triumph as his prey squirms weakly." Walt crowed.

I kicked up again, harder, and it worked this time. He jumped up, staggering slightly, and I leaped up onto his back. "And now, the 'prey' fights back. The feeble 'hunter' is slowly being killed as the parasite sucks his life from his back."

"Double piggy back!" Vince yelled suddenly, jumping onto _my _back.

"Triple piggy back!" Joey joined him. Walt staggered a little again, but took the weight without much strain.

Desmond walked in the door, wiping his chin with the back of his arm. He froze in that position, eyes wide. "Have I walked in on something? An orgy, perhaps?"

"Ewww!" Joey shook his head wildly.

Desmond scooped up the beloved video camera and pointed it at us with a brief comment of, "I came back from hunting to this madness. What are you guys doing?"

"Your mom." Vince grinned.

"Ohhhh!" Joey laughed.

With a quick beep the camera turned off. "Oh, save me...I'm melting..." Walt flopped backwards, everyone landing on Joey, who yelped and scrambled to get up.

"Man, I want some _music_." Desmond complained, flopping onto the sofa and smelling of blood.

"Don't wanna be an American idiot!" Vince started yelling.

Here we go again...

**Nananananananana**

**Batman :D**


	9. Chapter 9

**My fave charrie...Alice! :D**

"_Izzy! Hey, Izzy!"_

Alice's face went blank as she found herself entering a vision, but with confusion. Izzy? Did she know anyone called Izzy?

_A boy is wandering through a small house. He's 19, perhaps 20, with chocolate brown hair and a mischievous face. "Izzy! Jeez!"_

Even though she's mostly seeing him from the back, she can tell he's a vampire – his skin is pale, and he moves with smooth steps, inhumanly graceful.

"_I'm outside!" A female calls. The male turns, and shows his light red eyes._

He's not a vegetarian. This only puzzled Alice more – she doesn't know him, and the voices are unfamiliar. Except for one, which she can't quite place...

_He heads out a doorway into a grassy area that looks as if it could go on forever. There are woods to the left of the house, and as he continues walking and looks back, it's shown that the house actually has two storeys – the second one is large and accessible by a ladder leaning against a large space in the wall._

She doesn't even know this area. Alice had trained her mind to only have visions applying to her and her family – this was very strange. Maybe they'd better keep an eye open for this male.

"_There y'are!" the boy grinned as he turned toward an old red truck. A girl a little younger than him with the same eyes grinned back from the front – she was holding it up for another older man working on the engine. A teenage boy was talking her ear off, something about a PlayStation. A last male was watching the engine being worked on, occasionally giving a remark or chuckling._

Alice gasped and her eyes widened – she knew that girl. She knew the female vampire so well she recognized her immediately, even though she looked different. Her eyes were the light red of those who drank human blood, and her messy hair was up in a ponytail. Her skin was delicately pale, and shadows lurked under her eyes.

"_Hey, Vince." Bella nodded. "Where ya been?"_

"_Relaxing inside. Want to go hunt?"_

"_I can't, I'm carjack." she shrugged._

"_Joey, you h – " the oldest working on the engine began to say, but the vision ended._

Alice buried her head in her hands, smiling slightly to herself to see that her best friend was happy, wherever she was. If only she could tell her – but no. She couldn't find her, and it might cost her friend her life – or existence.

She couldn't tell anyone. Oh, how she'd love to have Edward be there and see it through her – but he was out. At least she knew Bella was safe, and happy, and taken care of.

She could tell Edward that, at least.

**Makes no sense? That was the point, to befuddle yer brains. Bwoohahaha.**


	10. Chapter 10

**OMGOSH I FOUND THEM! :DDDD yayyy. I just found out how to get the documents back that I'd lost in the great computer switch, and the minute I did I started saving them and uploading the docs on here :)**

**I don't really like this chapter, personally...I do like the character though. I just didn't write it very well. ;; **

"Merry Christmas, boys." Desmond walked in unexpectedly, a cardboard box in his arms.

"It's February, Des." Joey informed him, but twisted around from his position on the sofa hopefully. "Watcha got, huh?"

"Well, I found this guy all on his own on the street in this box. Guess his brothers and sisters got adopted already." He put the box down and held up a fuzzy black-and-white kitten, which yowled in protest and squirmed. The kitten, that is. Not the box.

"Ew." Walt blinked at it, but I immediately melted at the hissing, wailing ball of fur. "You brought some lunch, that's what you brought."

"Don't be mean. He looks hardcore." Vince grinned.

"He looks pissed."

"Here, Izzy. You like him, you hold him." he leaned over and dropped the kitten into my lap. I immediately put my arms around it – the kitten pinned its ears back and glared.

"You know, I don't think he likes vampires." Joey snickered.

"He doesn't seem a very happy cat in general." I probably would have some serious scratches on my arms and legs if they weren't hard as rock. "What can we call him?"

"We're keeping him?" Walt groaned, but didn't seem to be seriously annoyed. "Aren't cats supposed to be bad for vampires?"

"Who believes that stuff?" Joey scoffed.

"You're not Walt's lunch, are you?" I cooed. "No you aren't, you're a cutie boy!"

"I vote we call him Snack." Vince snorted. Walt nodded in agreement.

"That's just mean!" I argued, but Joey was laughing and Desmond grinned. "He's gonna have issues with a name like Snack."

"He has issues anyway. Look at him, he's trying to eat your hand." Walt leaned back. He was done with the conversation, and Snack unfortunately stuck.

And yes, he did have issues.

"Look what your precious Snack brought in." Walt chuckled as we sat on the floor, sorting through movies to watch.

Snack marched in, dragging a rabbit bigger than him behind him and looking pleased. After a few weeks he'd warmed right up to us – well, he'd accepted he would be petted her, anyway. Of course he still attacked anyone that crossed his path, but he would with a name like that.

Yes, I was still sore about the name.

"Aww, good boy!" I squeaked. "Look, he's so smart. He'll be taking down bears next."

"That is pretty cool. Nice going, Snack Attack." Walt grinned. Snack glared at us, then dragged the rabbit behind the TV to eat it. He liked it back there, so we'd cut a hole in the box he'd arrived in and placed it upside-down for a kind of house. He ate it when he saw it. Vince was very proud of him.

"Hey, Snack. Kill it!" I darted my hand around the back of the TV and dragged it across the carpet towards me. He yowled and pounced, whirling around it so ferociously you could barely see my hand. I grabbed him and held him to my chest for a force-snuggle.

I ignored his feline insults and continued going through movies for one everyone would watch tonight. "If we'd given him a normal name, like Felix or Fluffy, he'd be fine."

"I think he's naturally like this." Walt disagreed. "Grown on me, anyway. He's like a Tasmanian devil.

Snack, right on cue, let out a screech of fury as he tried to get out of my iron grip. I released him and he ran behind the TV to eat.

"He likes me." I beamed.

**Didja like it? Snack makes me laugh. I feel so bad about leaving this story unupdated for so long that I'll upload the next chapter. Something big happens in it! -gasp- Hurry! It begs to be read! But please review this one first :)**


	11. Chapter 11

**I know last chapter I said something big was going to happen, but I now realize I had this one before the 'big event'. Sorry. I'd change it, but I'm too busy squeeing over my newly found chapters. But I have the next one right ehre and it's definitely the cool one. I like it.**

**And this one, I don't like so much either, but I don't have time to edit it and I figured it's pretty much filler, so whatever.**

"Something's going to happen today." Joey declared from downstairs. I was in the attic, keeping Walt company as he played around with engine parts.

"Joey, since when can you predict the day's events?" I said doubtfully in a regular voice, knowing he could hear me perfectly well.

"I just have this feeling something's going to happen. I feel really lucky."

"You're too young to gamble." Walt reminded him, attaching two parts together. I had no idea what he was doing, but was sitting cross-legged across him and chatting. Snack was chasing his tail in the corner – he always went crazy in the attic, so we tried not to bring him up too much. Unfortunately once he saw someone was going up, he'd make a flying leap out of nowhere and cling onto their back, hissing and pulling at their hair until we got him up there fast.

"Maybe I'll get something from a store tonight. We could get some more furniture!"

"Or, you know, we could go check out the junk yard right now and see what they got." I suggested.

"Junk yards are for wussies!" Joey scorned. "People don't miss stuff from stores. Hey, I bet you'd like some real girl clothes and underwear and stuff! We could get some new clothes!"

"That's an idea." I agreed, turning a small wheel over in my fingers. "I really, really wouldn't mind some bras."

"Haha, you said bras!"

Walt and I rolled our eyes at each other. Joey was coming up to a century old, but still had the immaturity of a child.

"We're home!" Desmond announced, as he and Vince arrived from their hunting. "Guess what we brought!"

"PS Games? Movies?" Joey asked.

"A laptop!" Walt called hopefully.

"Edward?" I asked, then sighed. I'd been mostly kidding.

"No, no, no and no. We brought brotherly love. Group hug!"

"Urgh. Looks like those two fed from a couple of lovers." Walt groaned. We jumped through the space in the wall, headed into the main room to see Vince bear hugging Joey.

"Hey, hey! Geddoff, you – " he cussed.

"Love ya too, bro." Vince grinned.

Joey squirmed. "I'm all restless. Who wants to play PlayStation with me?"

"Sure." Desmond snatched the less-scratched and dented controller, falling back onto the sofa. **AN: In case anyone is wondering, their sofa is like the coffee shop from Friends. It's their number one hanging out spot, and they all have their places where they sit. It's where they argue, watch TV, play video games, relax, worry, jump, read and catch up with each other. It's been around since Desmond was first turned in the late 1800s...so it's always been there :P Snack likes to sit behind the TV and growl at them.**

We all took our respective places on the sofa to watch Joey and Desmond yell at each other in some flickering racing game.

How long had it been now, I wondered, since I'd been turned? Nearly 10 months.

He'd come. Edward would come at the exact moment in time, and I could wait. I had eternity to wait but I certainly hoped he wouldn't take that long.

Surrounded by my brothers – loved, protected, teased – I knew I could wait.

And I did.

It went by so quickly after I had that thought – it was as if I blinked, but instead of a millisecond, thirty years passed by.

**The boys get more and more like my friends each chapter...I guess I unintentionally do that. Sorry ;;**

**I'll probably upload the next chapter tomorrow, unless I get like a whole bunch of reviews by this evening and I see them :P I'd just like to quickly thank everyone for still having this story on alerts etc after it's been on its reluctant hiatus, so to speak. I really love seeing people review, and I can't wait to upload each new chapter when I do and see how ya guys think of it. I'm even working on some stories that have PLOTS! Yayyy...**


	12. Chapter 12

_Surrounded by my brothers – loved, protected, teased – I knew I could wait._

_And I did._

_It went by so quickly after I had that thought – it was as if I blinked, but instead of a millisecond, thirty years passed by._

"Something's happening today." Joey told me confidently as I picked up a marker. Vince had found a slightly cracked classroom whiteboard in the junkyard, and we'd got some markers to go with it. It was fun to scrawl messages across, or reminders.

'NAKED MOOSE MEN' was undisturbed in the middle, with five small stick people underneath. 'Batteries for camera!!" was scribbled in the top corner, along with several messages that would always appear no matter how many times they were erased – "Joey P is the shiz', 'Izzy – better than you since 1990' 'Look behind you...' and 'naked moose men – defying laws, expectations and gravity since your mom'.

"You say that all the time, Joey." I drew the rough outline of a cat, complete with cartoon whiskers and dots for eyes.

"No, seriously! Can't you feel that in the air!"

"All I feel is thirsty. Izzy is exiting the building!" I called, feeling the dull ache lurch up in my throat as I left to hunt.

I arrived back about an hour later, pleasantly full and put in a good mood. All I could smell was rich human blood still, even though I only had a few specks on the front of my shirt. The scent was making me taste it again.

"I'm home!" I called, walking through the doorway to see Joey wriggling around on the sofa and smiling to himself. "What's up with you?"

"I just feel great about today."

"Dummy." I leaned over him to see what was on the TV. "You never watch the news. You hate the news!"

"I wasn't really watching it. Hey, can we all go out in the truck?" he looked up at me hopefully.

"Sure. I'll go get it started." I wandered back out the house and jumped into the old truck, twisting the keys fiercely in the ignition so it grumbled to a start. "Everyone out! Coven bonding drive!" I yelled.

Joey bounded out and sat on the front hood, beaming. It put me in an even better mood to see him so cheerful.

"Vince! Walt! Des!" I yelled. They must be around somewhere. Vince arrived outside the truck and scowled.

"I wanna drive!" he folded his arms. I hopped out, smiling to myself as I got into the back. "Walt, stop being such a gamer geek and get your butt out here!"

"All right, all right." He called, coming up a few seconds later and joining me in the back. As I turned around Des was sitting at the very back, and had unlatched one part of the truck that stopped thing from falling out so he could dangle his legs.

The truck jerked, and started chugging towards the woods, where frequent trips in this old vehicle had worn faint, shallow grooves for a road.

Joey, searching for a song to sing, grinned suddenly. "WE, are the champions..."

"Aw, not that one!" Desmond chuckled.

I leaned my head back slightly, staring at the dark sky. If it had been sunny I would enjoy the glittering of my skin, but now there was only a thin sliver of a moon and some clouds. Usually trips like these were accompanied by light chatter, arguments, dare and bets, but this was quiet except for the popping of the engine.

It was a simple night. To anyone but us it would be a complex matter; four young men and a woman, all vampires who loved to hunt and search junkyards, one of which waiting for her love to return to her. They each had their complex stories behind them.

And the story was about to get even more complex.

"Hey, ya smell that?" Joey perked up, breaking the quiet a good 45 minutes later.

I sniffed the air. Something familiar. Like I'd smelt it once, but hadn't. Like I'd dreamed it, and couldn't quite recall it.

"What is that?" Desmond frowned, jumping off the back of the truck and lifting his head to get a better scent. "Man, it's familiar."

"Not an animal."

"Not a human."

"It's...well, it's a trail." Vince spoke up. "It's something that moves."

"Let's follow it!" Joey's face lit up as he leaped out of the truck and moved in a circle, trying to find the direction. "Izzy, ya got a nose like a vampire bloodhound; you follow it!"

I started to shake my head, a strange feeling in my chest every time I inhaled the scent. But Joey looked so excited, and Desmond so curious...

The scent was the tiniest bit fainter to the east, so I headed west, feeling like a tracker dog. Joey bounced at my feet, chatting excitedly. "Wadja think it is? Maybe it's some new animal thing!"

"Maybe." I grinned at him. The curiosity was contagious.

Vince ruffled my hair. "Move, slave!" he laughed. I punched him on the shoulder.

A human memory was tugging at my brain insistently, like a toddler clamoring for attention. But it kept dancing away at the last moment. It was infuriating – usually I remembered my human life extremely well.

"Hey! Hey, I hear someone!" Walt tilted his head to one side. I stopped, pricking my ears. He wasn't imagining things – there were definitely distant voices, sounding as curious as ours.

Desmond suddenly looked grim. "Ah, I recognize it. Joey, you might know it – you were with another vampire when you were first turned, right?"

Joey looked puzzled. "Yeah, he disappeared a couple days later – why?"

"You might have recognized it. That smell – it's another coven."

Vince broke into a wide grin. "On our territory? This'll be interesting."

"Let's chase 'em off!" Walt straightened, anxious for a chance to see off these newcomers. I felt restless, too – this was our land, our hunting ground. Vampire instincts told me to fight for it.

Desmond smiled. "You don't want to meet them? See how other vampires live?"

Joey shook his head quickly, big eyes pleading. "Let's fight 'em off! C'mon, Des, puh-_lease_? It'll be fun!"

"I bet it would be, but they're probably just passing through. Why be obnoxious when they're simply traveling? If they're vicious, we can return the favors, guys." as oldest, Desmond's word had to be obeyed. "You guys get back to the truck. If we all come at them they'll think we're attacking."

"Aw, Des!" Vince whined.

"Come on, Des, it'll be better than chasing bears." I pleaded.

"No, I'll call when you can come. Don't look so mad, boys, it'll be good for you to meet another coven!" he struggled to make us see his point. I understood, but was sulky at the idea of staying at the truck. "Go on, now, or we can go right back home."

"You suck." Joey sighed, beginning to slouch back to the vehicle.

"I know. Believe me, I know."

We all trooped back, grumbling. Joey sat on the front hood, anxious to run back as soon as we heard the okay from Desmond.

A few slow minutes passed, with us fidgeting in our places; we all wanted a good fight or at least a fair chase, but to meet the other coven would be alright too. My hands went over the imprint of my fingers in the metal, the first time we took the truck out driving and I'd gripped it so hard five finger-shaped dents had been left.

"I guess Des has a point." Walt sighed.

"Still." Vince said stubbornly.

"Yeah."

Finally his voice rang out faintly – a human wouldn't have a hope of picking it up. "Joey! Walt! Vince!"

They jumped onto the grass, grinning ear to ear, but simultaneously looked at m in confusion.

"What about me?" I scowled, and breathed in to call the question out to him.

"What about – " Vince started to do it for me, but Desmond interrupted him, firm. He knew what we were asking and didn't want us to.

"Don't bring the truck, you guys! Joey, Walt, Vince – c'mon!"

By the truck he seemed the mean me. He was definitely hiding something, and sounded anxious.

"You guys go. He means it." I shook my head, leaning back and folding my arms in frustration. They started off at an unsure walk, but excitement took over and they ran towards Desmond's voice. I knew they'd drill him about leaving me out.

I vaguely heard their voices, mixed with the other coven's. It wasn't like Desmond at all to leave me out of things – anything at all. I was one of the guys. There was no reason – well, I wasn't quite as strong as them, and they tended to be a little protective, but you'd only notice it if you looked for it. If I fell, from the roof of the house or a tree, they would tease me but frown a little, secretly looking for injury and making sure I wasn't offended. I wasn't sure if I liked it or not, but as long as I was one of the gang I didn't mind too much.

As the minutes went by a realized their voices were getting gradually louder. The wind was in my favor, and I could smell them quite well – once again the memory ran around my mind, darting out of my grasp.

The voices were now clear as a bell. Unable to hide my curiosity, I leaned my upper body out of the back of the truck, arms suspended over the ground as I pressed my legs against the metal for balance. "You guys planning to come back or what?" I called.

A quiet laugh, and a quick intake of breath from someone else. "Patience is a virtue, Izzy!" Desmond replied. I heard the group's pace quicken - one much more than the others, his breathing unpredictable and short.

"Here's our Izzy." I saw the figures in the distance, and waved a little shyly. I couldn't make them out yet, because of the heavy trees. The second my hand began to drop I was tackled with such force I flew off the truck and landed on my back, in the grass. Two figures stood above me.

Desmond immediately growled, eyes turning darker. The other boys, seeing this, realized what had happened and leaped over the vehicle, pushing the much smaller figure away and trying to attack the other one. I heard Desmond snarling, and jumped to my feet, baring my teeth and growling lowly.

I only did this for a split second, because before I even made out the stranger's faces a voice, like bells, rang out somehow sounding fierce; "Get off me, I'm not trying to _hurt _her!"

My head whipped around, eyes wide. Joey had a pixie-like, short-haired vampire from behind and was trying to pull her away from me. I blinked, sure I was seeing things.

"_Alice!_"

"Lemme _go_!" she squealed breaking me free and sprinting to me to hug me so tightly she would have crushed my ribs if I were human. "_Bella, Bella, Bella_!"

"Izzy. You know them?" The boys had immediately stopped in their fighting, and Desmond stood in confusion, looking a little bit suspicious still.

"_Know _them!" I laughed.

Vince frowned, trying to figure it out, then lit up. "I know! I know! They're the Cullens!"

I nodded, hugging Alice with all the force I had. Emmett picked me up from behind, making me squeak in surprise.

Desmond smiled, relaxing. Joey looked at Walt, with a 'wow' expression.

"Bella! We've missed you so much!" Esme was now joining in the group hug, and to my surprise Carlisle and Jasper were there too. I nearly went into shock when Rosalie rolled her eyes, giggled, and joined.

"I hate sissy stuff." mumbled Joey.

"Wait, what? Who's Bella?" Walt looked to Desmond.

"Bella's short for Isabella, dumbass." he replied.

"Izzy doesn't look a Bella."

"Shut up, you're ruining the moment."

"You will not believe how much I've missed you! I only got one little vision of you, and it was so short, and I couldn't see any more no matter how much I tried for some reason. Is that your gift? It's a strange gift but I guess it kind of would make sense because you're so private and – "

Vince snorted, and Walt cracked up.

"Izzy? Private?" Desmond chuckled. "Anything but." he said quietly.

I closed my eyes, ecstatic to finally see the Cullens again – I thought my still heart would jump through my chest, I was so surprised, overjoyed, relieved that they were here...

Wait.

The second he entered my thoughts, I heard Desmond murmur something.

"You must be Edward."

My eyes flew open again and I turned. Alice and the others immediately let go and gave me some space – I don't know what they were expecting from me. Maybe to yell at him. To hit him. A hundred emotions went through me all at once. A half dozen meters away, with a small smile on his face, was my Edward.

His head was tilted slightly to the side when he watched the reunion, but as I caught his eye he straightened, mouth opening slightly as if thinking of something to say. As if he were about to say something deep and meaningful and romantic to make up for 30 years of his unexplained absence.

He didn't.

At the same moment we had sprinted forwards and were embracing each other, so tight I couldn't breathe, so sudden I barely remembered moving forward.

"Bella." he whispered. "My Bella..."

I wanted to cry. I wanted to sob and let tears fall onto the ground. I wanted to never let him go for the rest of eternity, I wanted to somehow show him how much I had missed him, how much I still loved him. I wanted to hit him and yell at him for making me wait with no explanation for far too long. But all I could do was breathe in his scent and feel his secure, stone arms around me.

"My Bella..."


End file.
